10 March 2010
Muslim and Arab Americans Explore Dynamics of U.S. Census
Census Bureau answers questions at Georgetown University
Washington — The U.S. Constitution requires that a census be taken of the American people every 10 years. The purpose? To determine the number of representatives in the U.S. Congress and to allocate federal funds appropriate to the needs of communities.
This month, the U.S. Census Bureau is sending questionnaires to millions of homes. Each form asks 10 questions designed to understand who lives in each household. As with previous censuses, questions on the 2010 U.S. Census form are sparking debate among Americans.
Like many of their fellow citizens, Muslim and Arab Americans have concerns about the census. How will their information be used? Who will be able to use their information?
To make their concerns known, and to answer questions in an open forum, Muslim and Arab-American organizations are partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau nationwide to urge their communities to participate in the census. Events are being held all over the United States where representatives of the Census Bureau meet with different communities and answer their questions.
One of these events was held March 8 in Washington, where Muslim Americans asked questions and voiced their opinions about the 2010 census with Census Bureau officials and community leaders. Sponsored by the American Muslim Interactive Network (AMIN) in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau, the “U.S. Census 2010: Muslim Voices Matter” event featured a panel discussion and question-and-answer session.
Held at the Rafik B. Hariri Building at Georgetown University, the panel included U.S. Census Center Assistant Manager Philip Lutz, Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center community outreach director Imam Johari Abdul-Malik and DC Counts Director Maurice Henderson from the office of Washington’s mayor.
Lutz addressed a concern shared by Americans of all backgrounds — the confidentiality of the census.
“There is a fear that filling out a census form will lead to something bad,” Lutz told the audience, but stressed this is not true. “The census is used only for statistical purposes and it cannot be used with any other federal agencies.” Fliers distributed to audience members by the Census Bureau read “Keeping your answers confidential is our solemn oath.”
Lutz said personal information gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau cannot be shared with government agencies. Even federal law enforcement agencies are prohibited from accessing personal data.
During the question-and-answer session, audience members asked about census confidentiality. Could new laws make personal data available to the federal government?
Alejandro Beutel, the Muslim Public Affairs Council government affairs liaison, said that America’s legislative process is shaped by its citizens through engagement with elected officials. If people disagree with legislation — enacted or proposed — they have the power to change it.
Another issue for some Americans is how they define their race on the census form. One of the questions asks about the race of household members, but currently “Arab” is not given as an option. Many Arab Americans feel their ethnicity should be one of the choices on the census forms. Therefore, many Arab Americans are mobilizing their communities to check the “Some other race” box on census forms and write in “Arab.”
Beutel highlighted the Samoan-American community as an example of how to be counted. Although they number approximately 60,000 nationwide, Samoans worked hard to be represented on census forms, according to Beutel.
“Contact your local government representative and lobby for your ethnicity to be placed on the census,” Beutel said.
Abdul-Malik’s remarks during the event further highlighted community participation. Citing examples from the Quran and the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad that support censuses, he said Muslim Americans need to get involved.
“We ask the minimum number of questions to get the maximum amount of information to help this nation,” Abdul-Malik said, stressing the positive uses for census data in strengthening America. “Maslaha, meaning the common interest, is the Arabic word that should encourage Muslims to be involved in the census,” he said.
Lutz said the Muslim-American community is responding positively to the 2010 U.S. Census. Partnerships are being formed across the nation between the Census Bureau and Muslim-American organizations to ensure that everyone is counted.
AMIN’s founder, Hazami Barmada, said she was inspired to participate in promoting the census when she noticed a lack of socio-economic and ethnic diversity at other census-related events. After Barmada contacted the Census Bureau to plan the Muslim Voices Matter event, a census official met her the next day. Just over a week later, the Georgetown University event was held.
“I know you have done some work with the mosques,” Barmada recalled telling the Census Bureau, explaining her organization is not religious, but serves as a forum to create understanding among different faiths. “But I think it is also really important to work with community organizations that are not religious-based per se.”
To advance messages from the event, Barmada said plans are in the works to make a YouTube video. She also hopes her organization will work with the Census Bureau to distribute materials provided at the evening’s event to the wider community.
“Hopefully, in dialoguing with them further, I want to see how we can help disseminate these packages to different community groups beyond mosques and community centers,” Barmada said.
